Hey, I have a question. I don't have an XBOX Live Gold account yet, mainly because I'm a cheapskate. I know I need one to play online with you guys. The other concern I have is that I don't have one of those XBOX keyboards, nor a headset. So... If I got the Gold account, how would I play with you guys?

Do I just click on your name and send a "I wanna play" request? Should I get the headset so I can at least talk to you while we're setting up a game? Should I get a keyboard so I can type in messages? What's the protocol for setting up games?

Very easy. If I setup a game all I do is go to the Dashboard (hit the Xbox Guide Button), navigate to my friends list, and press "X" to Invite to Game. You simply hit the guide button when the invite pops up and accept the invite. It's that simple. You just need a headset, which every Xbox 360 comes with anyway. I use the wireless headset but it's not necessary. A Keyboard is definitely not necessary, I never text chat on Xbox Live.

I don't think so... My brother got it for me for Xmas. 20 GB hard drive, one controller, Marvel UA & Fortenza Racing (or whatever). It's not a big deal. I'll just order one. Are there any deals on the Xbox Live gold accounts?

If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus

I don't think so... My brother got it for me for Xmas. 20 GB hard drive, one controller, Marvel UA & Fortenza Racing (or whatever). It's not a big deal. I'll just order one. Are there any deals on the Xbox Live gold accounts?

Hey, I have a question. I don't have an XBOX Live Gold account yet, mainly because I'm a cheapskate. I know I need one to play online with you guys. The other concern I have is that I don't have one of those XBOX keyboards, nor a headset. So... If I got the Gold account, how would I play with you guys?

Do I just click on your name and send a "I wanna play" request? Should I get the headset so I can at least talk to you while we're setting up a game? Should I get a keyboard so I can type in messages? What's the protocol for setting up games?

I don't have a keyboard hooked up, but I keep one handy. The headset is very nice for matchmaking and in-game chatting. Neither is necessarily required, though.

If you want to see if Live is for you, get one of those free trials and get ahold of me. I can have pretty much any game with advanced notice. I'm playing a lot of Mercenaries 2 lately (OMFG FUN COOP), but I have Force Unleashed and Rock Band 2 here on a spindle waiting to go upstairs too.

In a pinch you can send text messages via the controller to set up a match and play without a headset. It just adds to the experience.

I get mine from http://www.mygamercard.net. Right there on front page you can enter your info and it will spit out BBcode or html for you. If you want "presence" info such "Last seen at" or "Playing Gears of War" etc. you need to sign up for an account at MGC and change your settings.

Man, you post back fast. I didn't even read your second post before i wrote my last one, lol...anyways, i caught myself, sorry about that, i was thinking of N+. I'm at work, and I've been pretty preoccupied all day, so posting back takes me a while sometimes.

I didn't even realize FU was out yet!!! I'm gonna have ta jump on that! Is the Civilization game good?

Yeah, TFU was night before last midnight launch. I had to sit on it all Sunday waiting for the street date. Stupid Live bans for breaking street date!

Civ Rev is a lot of fun. I have no idea how it compares to the classics (Civ2/Civ3), but I picked up Civ4 and gave it a try and it's very similar to Civ Rev.

I'm looking forward to getting in some time on TFU tonight. I spent a bunch of time on other stuff last night and then a song or two in RB2 got me into the wee hours of the morning. I played the intro and first chapter (VADER!) but then had to knock off as it was almost 0500.

Ya, I've been behind on the new games lately, I haven't picked up Mercs 2 yet either. I just don't have as much time this year as I've had in the past. Work, school, and the girlfriend take up 96% of my time. I have Gamefly though, so I might pick up some rents ta catch up on the times a little.

I just watched a Sandbox Stunts video for Mercs 2 on Kotaku.com and it looked like a lot of fun to try some of them...I'm kinda anxious to play it.

So I had a weird problem. I was playing Lego Indiana Jones monday night. I have two controllers, one was charging via the nifty play-n-charge cable and I was playing with the other one. Well the one I was playing with ran out of juice, so I switched to the one that was charging and just left the dead one to die. Well apparently the xbox didn't like that because I got a message saying that since it lost the controller, no more games could be saved. I then switched the charger to charge the dead one and so ignored the message assuming that said action would resolve it. Well after playing for 4 more hours I went to bed. I go to play it last night, and lo-and-behold, those 4 hours of playing were for not. It indeed didn't save so I had to do it all over last night. Quite annoying.

Was the controller being charged signed in with another profile? If so, you might have switched to a guest profile or someone else's profile signed in and assigned to that controller. You have to make sure you hit the guide button and sign out the other profile (assuming you have multiple people signed in) to switch controllers.

Note: Turning of the controller does NOT sign out the other profile. So if you and your wife are playing, each signed in to a profile and assigned to controller 1 (you) and 2 (wife), and your wife stops playing, she needs to sign out (hit guide button then X), and then turn off the controller. THEN you can switch controllers. So if you switched controllers before doing this then you essentially stopped playing under your profile/gamertag and began playing under another (her's). It's easy to see who is signed in to a controller by hitting the Xbox button on that controller.

Hey is InkedSphyx around? I tried to chat with him this weekend, but no go. I saw he was playing Rock Band 2 and thought I could jump in... I fail at this whole XBOX Live thing.

So what's the protocol? Do I Invite To Chat, or do I Invite to Game? I think I sent him a couple chat invitations, but I didn't want to push my luck. He was right in the middle of Don't Fear The Reaper, it seemed kind of rude to pester him...

If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus

Hey is InkedSphyx around? I tried to chat with him this weekend, but no go. I saw he was playing Rock Band 2 and thought I could jump in... I fail at this whole XBOX Live thing.

So what's the protocol? Do I Invite To Chat, or do I Invite to Game? I think I sent him a couple chat invitations, but I didn't want to push my luck. He was right in the middle of Don't Fear The Reaper, it seemed kind of rude to pester him...

Well if he's playing and is not "joinable" then he would have to invite you. You cannot invite yourself. And if you invite him to chat, then that's a chat invite, not a game invite.